Reincarnated Sword Ghost

Pursuit

Was it perhaps to prove that he had indeed passed the county-level civil exam?

The area magistrate demonstrated even faster and more meticulous work than Jeong-un had expected.

He carefully collected the bodies of the victims, identified each one's identity, and found their families.

He even generously provided money for funerals and compensation.

However, he took every single piece of paper, including all sorts of documents from the estate, back to the government office.

"He must have had quite a bit to hide."

This was Baek Il-gang's sardonic comment, spoken in a mocking tone.

This was after Baek Il-gang and Tang Yerin had thoroughly searched every corner of the estate, including the official's office.

It turned out that the member of the Blood Cult, who had disguised himself as a leader of Heavenly Blade Gate, meticulously kept records in the books of every flow of silver coin he passed to the area magistrate, probably thinking he would have further use for it later.

And all of those records had already been sent to the Heavenly Martial Hall via White Hawk.

In truth, the area magistrate was in grave danger, both in terms of his position and even his life, but he himself remained blissfully unaware.

During the days that Jeong-un's group waited for a reply from the Heavenly Martial Hall and stayed at the now-vacant Heavenly Blade Gate estate, the area magistrate would often visit, rubbing his palms together anxiously.

He seemed afraid the Heavenly Martial Hall warriors might have discovered something.

"Since winter has just passed, I'm sure many people are starving. Open up the storerooms and provide some relief."

"Y-yes, I'll do as you say."

The expressions of the government soldiers witnessing this were rather odd, but understandably so.

The lands classified as 'county' in this country were by no means small; on another continent, such territory could belong to an entire nation.

Accordingly, the number of people ruled was not insignificant.

It was natural for the area magistrate to act almost like a king, and yet here was a young man, if not exactly disrespecting him, still issuing commands.

"And please, do not come here anymore. It does not look good for a government official who serves the country to associate closely with martial artists."

"......!"

At Jeong-un's firm attitude, the government soldiers were once again

surprised, but the magistrate only nodded hurriedly, looking embarrassed.

The words must have sounded very meaningful to him.

Yet even though Jeong-un's demeanor could appear arrogant at first glance, if one listened carefully, he had never acted against propriety or spoken untruthfully.

Just by the content of his words, he would have sounded merely like a principled and righteous martial artist.

Thus, Jeong-un relentlessly cut off even the area magistrate's visits.

That man was bound to be cast aside by the royal family anyway.

Besides, even if he carried out Jeong-un's orders well, he had still accepted money from the cult that had taken root here.

Jeong-un had no desire to see his face any more than necessary.

A few days passed in this way.

During that time, the Heavenly Martial Hall warriors devoted themselves to training—there was little else to do.

The mission's original goal was to track down and eliminate the cult's main headquarters, and the information they had collected would surely help the General Affairs Department make future plans.

'Good.'

During this period, Jeong-un focused on introspection, especially on the management of the vast true ki flowing through his body.

Although he had developed the basis for a third sword move, he didn't want to name it prematurely when it hadn't worked properly on his enemy.

The first move contained the secret of the swift sword; the second, the method of the heavy sword; and the third was an entirely different sword move.

It didn't emphasize speed or weight.

What mattered was gathering strength into a single spot and delivering it to the target.

Jeong-un wanted to make this third move his ultimate technique.

He remembered that when he first performed Traceless Flash, it scraped every bit of true ki from his entire body.

Now, however, his capacity for gathering ki had increased enough that he could perform it several times.

Yet for the third move, he wanted to create a sword move that expended all his true ki in a single blow—one that would pierce through anything, no matter how hard the target, even the body-protecting enhanced ki of a peerless peak expert.

But for that, the flow of ki through his meridians would have to be different from any sword move he'd made before.

At present, Jeong-un manipulated the flow of ki in his body using One Illumination Movement Technique as a foundation.

His cultivated power continually circulated through his body without conscious effort.

'I have to unleash it all at once.'

He wanted his true ki to converge at a single point the moment he thrust the sword.

That required an intense intent of consciousness.

True ki generally follows intent, but not in a way that defies reason—the heart does not instantly double its pace just because you will it.

This meant he needed an entirely new method of operation.

Currently, the natural energy mixed with his breathing would circulate through the meridians, transform into refined internal energy, and naturally settle in the dantian.

From there, the internal energy would ceaselessly circulate through his body, influencing his body temperature, muscles, and every small movement to steadily reinforce the body.

Jeong-un intended to reconstruct all of this, solely for the third move.

He wasn't making a new cultivation method; he wanted to keep One Illumination Movement Technique as his physical foundation, merely devising a new path for his true ki better suited for a thrusting sword move.

'That makes it even more complicated...'

But he didn't intend to give up. Now, Jeong-un understood that he had walked the martial path without special hardship.

He was gifted with an acute ki sense, and by chance, had gained a tremendous amount of internal energy twice—surely an unprecedented feat in all martial world history.

Therefore, he became exacting about his own martial arts and stubbornly sought to create techniques tailored to himself.

After all the luck he'd received, failing to do even that would be truly disgraceful.

'Must make an even more optimal flow than now.'

Despite this, he couldn't help but mutter to himself: Is it even possible to create a more efficient way to channel true ki into a sword move?

The task felt daunting.

He wondered how the patriarchs that produced the so-called supreme martial arts—those secret techniques hailed as absolute in the martial world—had accomplished their feats.

The names of sects' signature techniques came to mind, including the Buddha's Divine Palm he had witnessed from Monk Mu Jung.

At that moment—

"......"

While staying here, Jeong-un had always kept his ki sense spread widely around the estate. He detected some movement within its range.

It was subtle, but unmistakable. Like a small animal creeping about.

'... No, it's a person.'

He suddenly remembered when Monk Mu Jung mistook him for a cat and now, at last, he understood.

He himself could have been no more than an animal prowling the wall at night.

But the movement had a clear destination: someone was crossing the estate's furthest wall and advancing directly, without hesitation, as if having memorized the route.

Still seated in meditation, Jeong-un slowly stood up.

At present, Jeong-un and his companions each occupied a pavilion in the estate; with so much space and so many buildings, they used them as they wished.

Silently, he opened the door and stepped outside.

'......'

He briefly wondered if he should alert his companions but slowly shook his head.

'It's not even a surprise attack.'

Those who had lingered here said the High Priest from the main headquarters would come in person if needed.

The one now sneaking over the estate's wall was hiding his presence skillfully but did not reach the level of supreme lightness skill.

It could simply be a thief stealing from a martial sect's estate, or someone sent secretly by the area magistrate, who had been blocked from entry by Jeong-un.

If he still had secrets to hide, he might have ordered someone to retrieve them.

The magistrate could easily hire a competent martial artist.

'No matter what, let's just catch him first.'

Tap.

Kicking lightly off the ground, Jeong-un soared gently through the air.

The ground retreated and his field of vision widened.

He used the Gate Leader's office, at the very center of the estate, as his quarters due to Jo Gwang's insistence that the squad leader should occupy the best place.

That also made it the tallest building, so he landed softly on its roof and turned his gaze in the intruder's direction.

At that moment—

Had the intruder reached his goal?

He stopped moving for the first time, then slipped inside a small building that looked like the storeroom.

Tap!

At the same time, Jeong-un kicked off the roof, flying through the air.

In seconds, he closed the distance to the building.

Just then, the intruder who had entered emerged again, his hands busily working as if concealing something inside his clothing.

He darted toward the nearest wall.

'... He noticed?'

Though his lightness skill wasn't extraordinary, his speed was impressive, especially since he suppressed his presence even while fleeing.

Jeong-un reevaluated him—not just a thief talented at sneaking, but a true martial artist proficient in lightness skill.

Tap.

Jeong-un kicked off another roof at the same time.

Swoosh—

In an instant, his body shot through the air like an arrow, propelled forward by true ki riding the secret of Moonlight Swift Steps.

The Heavenly Blade Gate estate fell away behind him in a flash. The fleeing man, too, had abandoned stealth and was sprinting at full speed.

'Can't let him escape.'

Once more, Jeong-un gathered all his true ki and leaped.

His body shredded the air, the wind shrieking past his ears.

Still, he couldn't catch up.

Now, the man's nape was close enough to see with the naked eye, but still out of reach.

Jeong-un gripped the sword guard with one hand. If he couldn't seize him, he'd cut his legs out from under him.

At that moment, the man glanced back and locked eyes with Jeong-un.

Flash—

"...!"

In a blink, he widened the gap again. What lightness skill was that?

For a moment, he moved astonishingly fast.

Jeong-un likewise unleashed his true ki for another burst of speed.

By now, he realized the man was no ordinary thief—the fleeing speed and the sophisticated footwork were proof.

All the more reason not to let him escape.

Whatever his intentions—whatever he'd tried to steal by creeping over the wall—Jeong-un had to find out.

Scree—

The two figures sped out of the village and onto the mountainside.

Finally, the man stopped as if ready to stand his ground.

Tap.

Jeong-un, sprinting as though to cut down his opponent at any second, also halted, facing the man with a grim look.

"So it was a trap."

He sensed several presences around him. The moment he arrived, he realized it.

The man had led him here on purpose.

Jeong-un addressed him calmly.

"You lured me out here alone on purpose, didn't you?"

"I just wanted to draw out the strongest among those gathered there. I figured only someone with a very keen ki sense would notice my presence. And just as I expected, you took the bait."

The man wasn't wrong.

Among the group, only Jeong-un could have detected him.

Even during the chase, it was so fast that the others would only notice he was gone.

Jeong-un narrowed his brow as he fixed his gaze on the man's face.

"... You're that High Priest, aren't you?"